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Skape CG Model of London

It seems that Skape will be releasing this 3D model of London in Jan/Feb 2010. The original story comes from Londonist...

"According to the Digital Urban blog, this three-dimensional model of London will be released in Jan/Feb 2010 via a company called Skape. A video fly-through of Victoria Street appears to show every building in accurate, coloured detail. Not sure about the putrid colour of the Thames, though. Did they collect that data in 1850? More info when we have it.".

Click to see more ................

Reported By On 23-12-2009 at 17:41:05

Dreamworks AnimationFright Diner - by Dacey

Looks like Dreamworks have another roast on the spit. All we can say is "be carefull what diner you choose"....

"DreamWorks Animation has set Ethan Reiff and Cyrus Voris to write "Gil's All Fright Diner," an adaptation of the A. Lee Martinez novel that has Barry Sonnenfeld attached to direct."

Click here to read more .......................

Reported By On 23-12-2009 at 17:14:34

Arnold Stang - 1019 - 2009by Jerry at Cartoon Brew

He was Top Cat, and will be missed.....

"One of my favorite actors and character animation voices, Arnold Stang, has passed away at age 91. In animation, Stang will live forever as the voice of Hanna-Barbera’s Top Cat (1961). Stang was also unforgettable as wise-guy Herman Mouse (aka “Uncle Hoiman”) in the Paramount (Harvey) Herman and Katnip cartoons — and Blackie Sheep in the early Noveltoons. He also voiced Snurtle the Turtle in Pinocchio In the Outer Space (1965), Churchy LeFemme in I Go Pogo (1980), Quesy the Parrot in Richard Williams’ Raggedy Ann and Andy (1977) and voiced characters on Garfield, Courage the Cowardly Dog, among others."

Click the link to read more ...........

Reported By On 23-12-2009 at 17:09:14

Nvidia's FermiExplained by Techradar

Fermi does seem to be shaping up to a decent step up in graphics performance. But of course nVidia is really staking its claim here on general computation. And that puts them in direct competition with Intel and of course AMD. Chris Ford of Techradar has an insight for you....

"Hardware comes and goes, sometimes we get a little damp in anticipation, but usually its nothing you want to run out into the street and proclaim. There is an exception to this – high-power graphics cards, we love these. They make games sexy and that makes us sexy. At the heart of these is the GPU, and when Nvidia announces it has a new and wonderful one, it is time to take notice. It's codenamed Fermi, after renowned nuclear physicist, Enrico Fermi. "

Click the link to read on......

Reported By On 23-12-2009 at 16:34:45

Clients From Hellits all too familiar.....

I think we've all been there. Your sitting in a room, or on a phone call with a client, and they say something that beggars belief. Lets be clear, we all love our clients. They are our bread and butter after all. But sometimes they can be just a little bit "too much. Hit the link to read some classic real world cient - studio communication.... :)

Reported By Chris Thomas On 23-12-2009 at 12:45:33

Mass Effect 2 Traileris online!

Looks like Mass Effect 2 is not too far off now.....

"Bioware and Microsoft today released a full cinematic trailer for Mass Effect 2, the galaxy-spanning, epic RPG coming January 26, 2010 in North America and January 29, 2010 in Europe to the Xbox 360 and PC."

This film has been planned for a few years, and Hiromasa Yonebayashi is making his directional debut here.......

"The official website for Studio Ghibli's next project, an adaptation of Mary Norton's The Borrowers (Yukashita no Kobito-tachi) novel, has launched on Thursday. Studio co-founder Hayao Miyazaki has been planning the Karigurashi no Arrietty (The Borrower Arrietty) film since July of 2008, but as previously revealed by producer Toshio Suzuki, Miyazaki is not directing the next film. 36-year-old animator Hiromasa Yonebayashi is making his directorial debut with this project. The film will open in the summer of 2010.".

Click the link to read more ............

Reported By On 23-12-2009 at 12:03:21

Smooth Rebranded And Relaunched AsAssembly Studios - By CGarchitect.

After ten years, its all change at Smooth (or rather Assembly Studios)

"After 10 years of working with great clients and creating award winning work we are proud to announce that Smoothe has rebranded and relaunched as multi-disciplinary design agency - Assembly Studios"

Click here to read more at CG Architect...........

Reported By On 23-12-2009 at 09:55:37

AvatarA very good weekend.

It may have been the bad weather, but 'Avatar' did not brake the record set by 'I Am Legend'.....

LOS ANGELES - Audiences are trekking to see James Cameron's science-fiction saga "Avatar," which has opened as the weekend's No. 1 film with $73 million domestically.

Click here to read more ...............

Reported By On 23-12-2009 at 09:43:19

FX Breakdowns Galoreat AE TutsPlus

AE TutsPlus have a pretty sweet page, that includes numerous breakdownds of FX projects.....

"Are you ready to get pumped up? I could literally watch VFX Breakdowns all day and night... which probably explains my lack of sleep this past week. Well, I'm willing to suffer for your enjoyment... that's just the type of guy I am. Here are 42 of the most killer VFX breakdowns I could find on the web. Hold on to your jaw because it's about to hit the floor. I'm not liable for dental bills."

Hit the ole you know what, to go, you know where.....

Reported By Chris Thomas On 22-12-2009 at 16:36:42

Alice In Wonderland TrailerIs Up

Alice in Wonderland is beeing played in conventional 3D theatres, on Monday 5th 2010.

"Johnny Depp stars as the Mad Hatter and Mia Wasikowska as 19-year-old Alice, who returns to the whimsical world she first encountered as a young girl, reuniting with her childhood friends: the White Rabbit, Tweedledee and Tweedledum, the Dormouse, the Caterpillar, the Cheshire Cat, and of course, the Mad Hatter. Alice embarks on a fantastical journey to find her true destiny and end the Red Queen's reign of terror. The all-star cast also includes Anne Hathaway, Helena Bonham Carter and Crispin Glover."

Reported By On 22-12-2009 at 16:25:54

Gigapixel Panoramaof Harlem, New York

This is a pretty cool panoramic photograph of Harlem. It seems to all the rage at the moment, with various teams attempting to produce tha largest megapixel count out there. This is a mere paltry 13 gigpixel.. Still, its still a pretty amazing image eh?

Next we at CGA want to see the ability of being able to capture the image that is occluded from the camera. Then we'll have that cool photo gizmo Deckard uses in Bladerunner. Come on, get too it!!

Reported By Chris Thomas On 22-12-2009 at 15:29:03

Ordance SurveyWant to go beyond simple visualisation

Worth taking a closer look at maybe? Thanks to CG Architect for digging this one up.....

"ARMCHAIR explorers who soar over 3D cityscapes on their computer may be used to the idea of maps with an extra dimension. But they are now getting accurate enough to offer much more than a preview of your next holiday destination. Accurate, large-scale 3D maps could soon change the way we design, manage and relate to our urban environments."

Click to read on ..........

Reported By On 22-12-2009 at 13:08:05

Zerebrale DichotomieOn how decisions are made

Yes, no, yes, no oh! I don't know.......

"Most people have found themselves in situations where they have got to choose between two things. But sometimes that seems quite hard, as if two mysterious inner voices fight against each other. Our work deals with this topic to give science a new preposterous explanation about the human brain."

Hit the video above, to find out if, or not, you should make a decision. Or do not, its up to you (or is it...)

Reported By On 22-12-2009 at 12:51:16

Backburner Render ManagerAvailable for OsX (at last)

It seems that Autodesk has released Backburner for OsX. Previously it was only availabel for Windows and Linux. This would be for anyone our there using Maya on OsX of course.....

Hit the link and grab some net rendering lovelyness.....

Reported By Chris Thomas On 22-12-2009 at 11:08:55

Expose 8 Call for Entriesfrom Ballistic Publishing

Got a favourite artist? Yourself maybe!?

"The EXPOSÉ 8 Call for Entries are now open, and we want to see more art than has ever been seen. To get there, we're calling on the community to get involved in letting us know which artists they want to see, and the art that has inspired them this year."

Click here to find out more .............

Reported By On 22-12-2009 at 09:43:25

The Missing LynxProduction focus - by Pablo Hadis

What do you think is important, good story or millions of polygons? Co. Director Manuel Sicilia, thinks good story.....

"It's the story that matters. It can make or break a film. We've heard it a thousand times. Still, in many cases these phrases don't translate into concrete results, especially in the CG medium.

'The Missing Lynx', a film directed by Manuel Sicilia and Raúl García, co-produced by Spanish actor Antonio Banderas, may be one of those worthy exceptions to the rule."

Click the link to read more .............

Reported By On 21-12-2009 at 19:47:30

The Art Of Princess And The Frog - by Jeff KurttiInterview over on Animated Views

This much anticipated book is worth the wait......

"Whether you’re a Disney oriented book reader or a DVD/Blu-ray buff, you can’t have missed Jeff Kurtti. A renowned Disney historian, he’s the author of more than 20 books, notably on Disney Animation and Imagineering, that have become references. He’s also a director/producer of some of the best supplements you can see as bonus features on Disney DVDs."

Click here to read more .....................

Reported By On 21-12-2009 at 17:46:29

James Cameron Profile - Part 3by Trevor Hogg at Flickering Myth

Cameron's twelve years away from the big screen has come to an end........

"“I started thinking about the film in two stages,” explained James Cameron on how he approached writing, Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), the sequel to his science fiction classic. “In the first stage the future sends back a mechanical guy, essentially what the Terminator became, and the good guys send back their warrior. In the end, the mechanical guy is destroyed. But up there in the future, somewhere, they say well, wait a minute, that didn’t work; what else do we have? Something they’ve created that they keep locked up, hidden away in a box, something they’re terrified to unleash because even they don’t know what the consequences will be – they being the machines, now in charge of the future.”"

Click here to read more .............

Reported By On 21-12-2009 at 15:39:11

AvatarBox Office Millions

Looks like everyone went to see Avatar last weekend. We'll be making a visit tommorrow at the IMAX London......

"Looks like Avatar is well on its way to an eye-popping opening weekend, banking an estimated $27 million at the box-office on Friday, according to Hollywood.com Box Office. (This includes the $3.5 million the 3-D epic made in midnight showings Thursday night.) Of course, this is nowhere near the biggest opening days of the year – The Twilight Saga: New Moon made $72 million on its first Friday, and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen took in $62 million on its first Wednesday. But for some perspective, director James Cameron’s last film, the $600-million-grossing Titanic, made $28.6 million in its entire opening weekend.."